Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has approved the removal of Oba Joseph Oloyede from his position as the Apetumodu of Ipetumodu following his conviction for fraud-related offenses in the United States.
Read more: Adeleke Dismisses Osun Monarch Imprisoned in US for FraudAccording to a statement released on Monday in Osogbo by the governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, the decision was reached after the state government received a Certified True Copy of the judgment from a U.S. court in Ohio. The court convicted Oba Oloyede of tax fraud and money laundering.
The statement explained that the Osun State Executive Council had, last year, instructed the Ministry of Local Government to secure the official court judgment from Ohio before taking any action. This step, the government said, was to ensure that all proceedings were based on verified legal documents rather than media reports or social media speculation.
The Deposition Order, signed by Governor Adeleke on May 7, 2026, stated that the removal was necessary to uphold peace, order, and good governance, as well as to protect the honour and integrity of the royal institution.
The government further noted that Oba Oloyede’s guilty plea, public trial, and conviction in the United States had brought the traditional stool and the Apetumodu title into disrepute, resulting in public embarrassment and undermining the integrity of the throne.
Oba Oloyede was sentenced on August 26, 2025, by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio to 56 months in prison after being found guilty of wire fraud, filing false tax returns, and conducting monetary transactions with criminally derived property.
Following the deposition, the Osun State Government declared the Apetumodu stool vacant and announced that the process to select a new traditional ruler would begin according to established procedures. Residents and indigenes of Ipetumodu were urged by the governor to remain peaceful and law-abiding during the transition.
